4888 
437 
way we have ever tried, is to go upon the build¬ 
ing, and drop a small rope down the flue, and 
to this attach a small bundle of small sticks 
or twigs. By putting this near the middle 
of the rope and drawing it back and forth a 
l'ew times, the flue will be made very clean. 
THE BEST KEEPING APPLE FOB THE WEST. 
D. T. (!., Steele City , Neb .—What Is a better 
apple, for late use, than the Willow Twig? 
ANSWERED BY PRES T. T. LYON. 
Willow Twig and Beu Davis compete very 
closely for the palm as long keepers for the 
West, with the preference rather in favor of 
the former, so far as keeping only is con¬ 
cerned. although appearance is decidedly iu 
favor of the lutter. Neither of them is above 
third quality in flavor. Grimes’s Golden is 
greatly to be preferred to either, on account 
of its flue quality; but its productiveness, and 
possibly eveu its hardiuess in the extreme 
West, may be fairly considered as doubtful. 
Miscellaneous. 
“ NoviceLake Center, Pa. —What causes 
the iujury to the raspberry cauo, a specimen 
of which I send? At the rate the vines are 
being destroyed, i shall have none nextj'ear, 
what is the remedy ? I have found four canes 
affected in one bill. Something eats a circle 
just inside the outer coveriug, and in a few 
days the inside is all eaten out, and the cane 
dies above the place. 2. I have a strawberry 
lied planted in the Fall of 1883, and which is 
now loaded with forming fruit; to get the 
largest yield uext year, must 1 grow uew 
plauts and set them out this year, or will the 
old plants bear as well? The ground is abun¬ 
dantly supplied with ashes, bone dust and cow 
manure. 
A ns. —1. The trouble is caused by the rasp¬ 
berry-cane borer, for which at present there is 
no known remedy, except to cut off and burn 
all ulfected caue at the first, appearance of the 
trouble. 2. If kept free from weeds, aud 
thoroughly cultivated after fruiting, aud well 
manured with the' bone and ashes, the vines 
may he continued in fruiting three or four 
years, although it is often cheaper to plant 
out u new bed each season than to be at the 
expense of weeding the old one. 
if. C. D., Loveland, Col. —1. Would the 
Rural's plan of potato growing be adapted 
to irrigation? 2. Many tell me that early po¬ 
tatoes here make a second growth and are 
spoiled; is not the fault iu the watering? 8. 
How would you advise the use of water on 
potatoes? 4. Sweet corn is much damaged by 
a worm which burrows into the ear and des¬ 
troys the graiu; what is it and w! at is the 
remedy ( 
Ans.— 1. We think it just the thing, except 
that but little mulch should be used. 2. It 
undoubtedly is. 3. We should me plenty of 
water all through their early growth aud un¬ 
til the tuhers were two-thirds grown, aud 
after that none, trusting to the mulch to 
carry them through to maturity. What 
makes the second growth is allowing them to 
become too dry, aud thus forcing partial ripen¬ 
ing when only partially grown. The further 
application of water causes them to grow 
prongy aud become watery. 4, This Is the 
Cotton-boll Worm and can bo kept in check 
by hand picking the first broods, by the use 
of lighted flames to burn the moths up by night, 
and by plaeiug here and there dishes contain¬ 
ing a solution of water, vinegar and molasses. 
By commencing early aud using all these 
methods they cun bo prevented from doing 
much damage. 
J. B. W., Sterling, III. —1. What is the 
trouble with my chicks? The eggs are nearly 
all fertile, but the chicks camiot break out 
owing to the toughness of the skins. 2. Dotbe 
youug plauts of Gregg and Cuthbert Rasp¬ 
berries look alike? 2. Is there any difference 
between Sburpless and Manchester, except iu 
the blossom? 
Ans.-1 . The probability is the eggs were kept 
too dry. They should be sprinkled every two 
days for a week before the chicks hatch out, 
with warm water. 2. No; Gregg is a black¬ 
cap and grows from the tips; Cuthbert is a 
red, and propagates from suckers, 2. Yes ; 
the Sharpless is the largest berry growu; the 
Manchester Is only moderately large. The 
Manchester is pistillate ; that is, it has no 
stamens, aud is scarlet in color; the Sharpless 
bus a “perfect” flower, and its color is a bright 
red. When highly manured, the Sharpless is 
apt to grow very irregular also. 
F. A., Glendale, N. Y ,— 1. Two of my 
calves, when about u day old, were affected 
with scours and died, tvhat was the cause? 2. 
Are peas aud oats good feed for milch cows. 
Borne say peas dry them up, is this true? 
ANS.— 1. Probably the cause of SCOUTS 111 
the calves at so early au age was due to some¬ 
thing uuwbolesome in the dam's milk. 
“Scours iu calves’’ whs fully discussed iu the 
F. C. of June 0, ami we must refer our friend 
to the issue of that date. 2. Capital food; the 
i»£W-V0ttK£ll 
only trouble is that peas and oats are rather 
expensive. The bulk of the ration on which 
Princess 2d gave her great yield was peas and 
oat meal, but there was au addition of oil 
meal and bran. For soiling or ensilage, peas 
and oats will be ready to cut at the same time, 
and form a very excellent green-food combi¬ 
nation. both for fattening and milk produc¬ 
tion. For seed, mix two bushels of peas with 
40 quarts of oats, and drill four bushels of the 
mixture per acre. The combined crop will 
be ready to cut when the pea is in blossom; 
but it will be best when the seed is in milk. 
T. ./. 6'., Poplar Bluff, Mo. —1. Is there a 
certain day in August on which if an/tree 
or plant is cut or bruised, it will die; and if 
so, what day is it? 2. How old should a sow 
be before she is allowed to breed ? 3 If a field 
is sown to Red Clover next Fall, would it pro¬ 
duce a crop the succeeding Summer? 4. 
Should Red Clover be pastured when inteuded 
for hay ? 
Ans. —1. No; the belief is only a popular 
superstition. It iujures any plant or tree to 
cut its top off when in full growth, but it is 
not certaiu death. 2. They are often bred 
when less than a year old; but it is not advis¬ 
able. The best breeding age is from two 
to four years. If paired at 11 months for 
the first litter, it will be about right. 3. Yes, 
a lino crop, providing the Winter does not 
injure it. 4. If pastured, it will not yield as 
much bay as if not pastured: and if pastured 
too closely, it will soon "run 1 out. 
J. S. D., Linden. — 1. Is the Black beard¬ 
ed Centennial Wheat grown anywhere as a 
Winter variety? 2. Does the Eureka Wheat 
stand the Winter well? 3. Do these varieties 
yield large crops? 
Ans.— 1. Yes, in certain parts of Northern 
Pennsylvania, Colorado and several other 
places. 2. We fouud the Eureka (Wysor’s) a 
dwarf, very early wheat aud quite hardy. 3. 
W here the Black-bearded Centennial thrives 
either as a spring or winter wheat, it yields 
well; but this area is restricted. We should 
not think the Eureka would yie’d heavily 
anywhere. 
J. \V. Falls City, Neb., sends for name 
specimens of an insect fouud on fruit trees. 
Ans. —The insect is the Apple-twig Borer— 
Amphicems bieaudatus. It is a small cylin¬ 
drical beetle, three tenths of an inch iu length, 
of a dark chestnut-brown color above and 
darker beneath. While in the larval state, 
the insect does no injury; it is the beetle 
which bores into the branches of apple, pear 
aud cherry trees. It works downward through 
the pith, making a cylindrical burrow one or 
two inches long. Twigs injured by them turn 
brown, and are liable to break off in windy 
weather. 
W. B., Eureka Springs, Ark , sends twigs 
of grape vine, which have been punctured for 
egg-laying purposes, by one of the tree crick¬ 
ets, aud asks its name. 
Ans,—T he common species, CEcanthus niv- 
eus, lays its eggs close together. The species 
sent is CE-autbua latipennis, which makes its 
punctures at considerable intervals, deposit¬ 
ing a single egg in each puncture. Where 
this insect is abundant enough to do much 
damage, tho only satisfactory way of destroy¬ 
ing it ts by pruning, and burning the infested 
twigs. 
IF. F., Baraboo, Wis. —1. What is the best 
time to sow grape seeds?. 2. I sent for seeds 
to A. C. Nellis <*fc Co., Canajoharie, N. Y., 
aruoug others, and that firm alone has kept 
the money, but failed to send the seed. Docs 
the Rural kuow the firm? 3. How is it that 
late grapes sometimes sprout ahead of eurly 
kinds? 
Ans. —1. The best time is when the grape is 
ripe. 1’lant them then, aud cover lightly 
with a mulch to be removed in early Spring. 
2. We do not kuow it. 3. Late fruits need 
a long season in w bich to mature. The Kieffer 
—a late pear—is about the first to bloom. The 
White Elephant and Late Beauty' of Hebron 
are late potatcit s, but they bloom early. 
G. K L., Setauket, N. Y — 1. We have a 
pencil orchard set four y ears ago; would it be 
advisible to plow it or to use a Whipple spring 
tooth harrow ? 2. Should anything be planted 
iu the orchard ? 
Ans. —1. It makes but little difference what 
the tool is with which you work it, provided 
you keep the surface mellow and free from 
grass aud weeds. If you conclude to plow it, 
don’t plow so deep as to injure the roots. 2, 
We should prefer to keep it clean, aiul give 
the trees the full advantage of the land; but 
cropping will do no harm, if you supply 
manure accordingly. 
F. d. L., Brock-port, Pa. —When should the 
old trout be shut from the spawning beds to 
prevent their eating the spawn? 
Ans.—T his should be done as soon as they 
are through spawning; nor should the youug 
fry be allowed to pass iuto the ponds with the 
old fish before they are two years old. We 
know a pond where the old trout eat spawn 
and the youDg fry so closely that there is no 
increase. 
G. H., Eldon, Mo .— Where was Thomas 
Jefferson buried, and what is there to mark 
the spot where he lies? 
Ans —At his home, Montecello, on a hill 
near Cbarlottsville, Virginia. The monument 
erected to his memory is now somewhat di¬ 
lapidated, according to late accounts. 
./. H S , Brantford, Can. —My raspberry 
and currant bushes came out in leaf; I put a 
little salt around each bush and they have 
died; has the salt killed them? 
Ans. —A little salt would not kill,but a con¬ 
siderable quantity would, particularly in early 
Spring. 
F. W., St. Joseph, La. — Where can I pro¬ 
cure buhach or pyretbrum powder? 
Ans.—I t is for sale at nearly all drug stores. 
■S’. W. M., Clay Center, Kan. —What is the 
insect, specimens of which are forwarded. It 
inftsts apple and pear blossoms and leaves? 
Ans. —It is the Tarnished Plant Bug (Lygus 
lineolaris). It is a very general feeder, and 
sometimes injures a great many plants. 
C. B . Millington, N. J — My roosters are 
losing their neck feathers. There is no vermin 
that! see. Skin red and sore. They eat well, 
and their house is clean. 
Ans.—See Farmers’ Club in last week’s 
Rural. 
W. H. S , Woodlawn, Pa .— Is the Dodge 
Economy Drier Co., of Normal, Ill., reliable; 
if so, is their drying apparatus all they claim 
font? 
Ans. —The company is reliable. We have 
never seen their machine in operation. 
E. H. C., No address. —Why is it that only 
a part of the Clydesdale stallions imported 
into this country are “docked?” 
Ans. —Docking is a matter of taste, and 
“there is no accounting for tastes.” 
C. P. 7’., Seymour, Texas, sends us a long 
list of plants, and asks where they can be ob 
taiued. 
Ans. —From P. J. Berckmans, Augusta,Ga. 
B. P. Milts, Sastings-on-Hudson, N. Y., 
wishes the names and addresses of some grow¬ 
ers of good peaches in New Jersey, who would 
snpply a demaud for them. 
Subscriber, Buckingham, Ya. —The blos¬ 
soms from a small tree iu the woods are Itea 
Virginica. 
DISCUSSION. 
F. S,, Hydetown, Pa.— The following re¬ 
marks are from a plain old farmer who does 
not often appear in public print; but has for 
more than half a century earned his daily 
bread by his daily attention to his own busi¬ 
ness on his own farm. On page 201, of the 
Rural, an article headed “A Protest Agaiust 
‘Stockman’s’ Notes” seems, by the place it oc¬ 
cupies in the foremost agricultural paper in 
the country, to call for a careful and thorough 
consideration—if uot for a solemn counter- 
protest. 
In speaking of chicken cholera, the writer 
says: “Every one who uses this disinfectant 
[sulphuric acid) intelligently', can save his 
fowls, or, at least, the greater part of them 
even after the disease has made its appear¬ 
ance in the flock.” And a little further on, 
he says: “Guard agaiust the introduction of 
the contagion. No attention to cleanliness 
and purity of food and drink will save your 
animals or fowls, if this essential precaution 
is neglected.” 
What does he mean by these contradictory 
statements? Does he forget what he has 
written as fast as the ink dries? A disinfec¬ 
tant. is a cleanser, and after the bulk of tilth 
is removed, it is undoubtedly very' useful in 
allaying the odors in the atmosphere and in 
particles of matter, otherwise uueome-at able. 
He goes on to caution us to beware of the 
opiuions of writers who contend that this spe¬ 
cific disease (cholera) is spontaueously pro¬ 
duced by filth aud unhealthy food. But if his 
theory is Correct, why caution us? What if it 
is uot? We all know perfectly that many 
other disease* are so produced, uud if this one 
is not so generated, but after being introduced 
by contagion can be easily arrested and cured 
by cleanliness, how can he make out that the 
theory of its spontaneous generation is “a 
delusion aud false doctrine mainly responsible 
for the great prevalence and spread of conta¬ 
gious animal diseases in this country?” 
Now, what I wish to impress upon my 
fellow farmers of a younger generation is 
probably the same that D. E. Salmon, D. V. 
M., had iu his mind, but which he has, unin¬ 
tentionally, of course, so worded as to be, iu 
my humble opiuiou, strougly' calculated to 
mislead. It is simply that while we all believe 
in guarding to tho best of our ability agaiust 
foreign infection, we must never lose faith iu 
the virtue of cleanliness aud healthful food 
and drink as the greatest of all safeguards 
against all diseases. He has not made me 
“shy” of Stockman. His (Stockman’s) crit¬ 
icisms are good, in spite of that wicked kink 
in him, where he says, “Mankind like to be 
fooled and humbugged.” That’s wicked. Bat 
I don’t think it is the “unpardonable sin,” 
nor do I believe the idea is original with 
“Stockman.” 
Now, “one word more.” Does not the subject 
of my criticism, while criticising Stockman, 
seem to have labored under the sad disadvan¬ 
tage of having worked himself into a bad 
humor with bis subject: a condition against 
which we should all guard very carefully, 
particlarly when writing under the eye of a 
most sensible public. 
R. N.-Y.—Dr. Salmon’s meaning seems to 
us quite plain. It had been intimated, on 
page 1G5, that the “cares” attributed by the 
Doctor to the disinfectant he recommended 
(two ounces of sulphuric acid to a two-gallon 
pail of water), were really due to the cleanli¬ 
ness which he also enjoined. He iosists that, 
while cleanliness is an excellent thing, it will 
not of itself cure cases of chicken cholera, 
whereas the disinfectant will cure such cases, 
even where cleanliness is not observed, provid¬ 
ed all the germs of the disease accessible to the 
fowls can be acted upon by it; and that the 
removal of the manure is necessary mainly 
because “otherwise the fowls will scratch be¬ 
low the superficial layer that was wet, and 
will, or may, meet with germs that have not 
been destroyed.” Nor is there,to our mind, any¬ 
thing contradictory in the passages quoted. 
The remedy may be efficacious; yet it would 
be better not to need it than to use it. Surely 
it is better not to need medicine at all, than 
to have to take it, however efficacious it may 
be as a specific? Very properly, therefore, he 
advises us to guard against the introduction 
of the disease from infected flocks—the only 
way in which it can be spread among healthy 
fowls. The belief that cnolera is spontaneous¬ 
ly produced, certainly tends to beget care¬ 
lessness about the previous condition of the 
docks from which new introductions are 
made. Too much caution cannot be observed 
with regard to the health of the flocks from 
which fowls are taken to be introduced 
among healthy poultry; and there is no doubt 
that chicken cholera is widely spread by neg¬ 
lect iu this matter. A disinfectant is hardly 
a “cleanser” in the usual acceptation of the 
word; but rather a destroyer or neutralizer 
of the germs of disease. We fully agree with 
our friend as to the value of many of Stock- 
man’s contributions to these columns- and it 
certainly appears to us there is a trifle too 
much acerbity in the discussion between him 
and bis critics. 
I\ W., St. Josei'H, La. —In the Rural of 
May 30, an editorial on farm wages, based on 
Mr. Dodge’s report, says that the “average 
in Southern States is $14 27.” Not being a 
politician, allow me to offer a few figures for 
wages iu this section. Skilled laborers receive 
from $2.50 to $3.fl0 per day. Farm or planta¬ 
tion hands get, from January 1st to August 
1st, 75 cents per day; from August 1st to Sep¬ 
tember 1st, cutting wood, $1 per day; from 
September 1st to January 1st, picking cotton, 
$1.50 per day. Beside this.every man or fam¬ 
ily is furnished a two room house, one-half an 
acre of garden, one-quarter acre of sweet pota¬ 
to patch, fire wood and a team to haui it home, 
free of charge. So much for wages. When 
the laborers rent ground and work well, they 
clear,man and wife, 10 bales of cotton,or $400. 
This includes same garden, etc., allowed to 
wage hands. 
R. N.-Y. — Happy are. or should be, the 
hired hands in that section; but the happier 
their lot. the more wretched must be that of 
others in the South. Mr. Dodge gave the 
ai-erage wages iu all that section, aud in strik¬ 
ing au average, the higher the wages ou one 
side of the mean line, the lower must he those 
on the other. How the poorly paid workers 
elsewhere must envy their fortunate fellows in 
Tensas Parish, La.! 
A. C. B., Box htifi, Rochester, N. H.—Will 
A. C. C.,of Lakeville, Dakota Co., Minn.,who 
replied to “Justice,” please send her address to 
the above. Would like to learn something of 
her section of the country. 
Communications Received for the Week Ending 
Saturday, June 20.1SS5. 
H. M R.-W. N A.—J. T. K.-P. D. G.-E. B.—B. P. 
J. E. P.-F. P. —F. Bro.-G. B. H.-a S.—Wm. Murray, 
thanks, money refunded.—C. B. M., all will appear 
In Rural.—J. S,, thanks.—E. C. L. G.-G. H. H.—B. 
W. B.-II.B L. K. S. J.-J.B. McC.-C.B—C. I. M.— 
A. H. - S. M.-M. C.—K. A. 11.—W. H. T.—M. P. R.—R. 
S.-J. C.-E F. Y. -P. A M.-J. G. G.-J. U B.-G, B. 
R. — I. F.-H, G. M.-C. A. U.-P. K. B.-Hrs. M. P. H., 
thanks —F. H. LV-H, H. F.-C. M. H.-P. T.-H. S.—E. 
L.R—J.U. -J. i>.—II. 11. II.—J. H.,oais received.— 
J. \V. It.-J. A. B.—W. L. H.—F.E. P.-E, W. H.—ff. 
\V. S,—A. W. B.-J. D. D.—H. F. T.-S. H. M.—E. P. L. 
\V. H. H.—F. W. W.-G. T. R.-A H. P.-E. N. P.-G. 
S. H.-D. W. C.^J. K.,Jr.—J. B. \V.—D. K. S.—James 
B. , beans received rather late —Huldah.—D. W. C.— 
H. G. M.-P. U.-J. L. B.-F. C. S.—I. J. B.—W. H. R. 
—T. T. L —J. O., will be answered.—P. E. J.—C. W. 
C. -T. H B.--R. B. W.-F. K. M.-J. W. K.-D. E.-E. 
W. M.. we will.—W. A. P.-J. H. J.—W. H. T.-F. F. 
Q.—E.F. V.-O.P. C.— F. D., we will do so.-W.P. 
